Rukawa's promise
by LostLaputa
Summary: An untold story of Rukawa's past. [One shot]. Enjoy.


**Author's Note: I do not own Slam Dunk. Hope you enjoy it.**

Rukawa Kaede, is one of the most skillful players in Shohoku High School. Although he is very popular among the girls, he appears to be very cold and unfeeling. The only reason he attends school is because he can take part in the basketball team. But there are more to Rukawa than meets the eye. He wasn't like that when he was younger. He was very cheerful person and was very social able. He had a brother who was seven years older than him. What happened to his brother?? Let's go back to ten years from now...

_Rukawa Isawaki, a middle-school student with good grades and a basketball player. He was influenced by his best friend who loved to play basketball. They always went to the court to shoot some baskets after school. Isawaki had a little brother, Rukawa Kaede, who was 5 years old. Kaede was a happy-go-lucky kid and was very friendly to those he just met. _

"_Isawaki-kun, will you please baby-sit Kaede for me today? I will be late today. The food is in the fridge," Isawaki read the message his mum had just left him. He turned to his little brother, who looked up at him with a grin on his cute little face. Isawaki shook his head and mumbled to himself, "Why can't she tell me earlier??"_

"_Oni-san, are you going out??" asked Kaede, looking at his brother._

_Isawaki looked at him. Maybe I could take him to the court. I'm sure the guys won't mind, thought Isawaki. "Kaede-chan, you want to go and have some fun with me??" _

"_Yes!! I'll go change now!!" said Kaede excitedly. Isawaki's eyes followed his brother up the stairs as he smiled. After a short moment, they were ready to head off to the court._

_As the court came into sight, Kaede ran into the court and greeted his brother's friends._

"_Hey guys. Sorry I'm late. You guys wouldn't mind right??" asked Isawaki as he stepped into the court._

"_Well, if you treat us a drink than we will consider forgiving you," said a tall boy with white jersey and red shorts, teasingly. "Hey Kaede-chan, nice to see you here," he turned his attention to Kaede._

"_Hurry up, you guys. Let's play. I have to head back home early today," said a boy who was wearing matching jersey and shorts._

"_Kaede-chan, be a good boy and sit here ok? After the game, Oni-san will buy you some ice-cream," said Isawaki as he carried his brother to a bench near the court. _

"_Ok. I want vanilla ice cream," replied Kaede._

_Kaede sat quietly on the bench and watched his brother played. Every time his brother scored a basket he will cheer for him. An hour later, the game was over. On the way back, Isawaki bought his little brother an ice cream just as he had promise earlier._

"_Oni-san…" _

"_Yes?"_

"_Can I come again tomorrow?" _

_Isawaki looked at his brother with surprise. He never would have thought that his little brother at the age of 5 would be interested in basketball. _

"_Ok. I'll take you there tomorrow. But you have to promise me you have to finish your homework ok?" said Isawaki._

"_Yeah!! Thank you, Oni-san," exclaimed the little boy. Isawaki smiled as his brother danced along the street._

_The next day, Isawaki took his little brother to the court again just as he had promised. Rukawa Kaede started to enjoy watching his brother play. Isawaki noticed that little Kaede has interest in basketball and started to take his little brother along to the court whenever he was free. _

_As times passed by and Kaede grew older, he started to play basketball with Isawaki and his friends. Isawaki also enjoyed teaching and giving tips to his little brother every now and then. The bond between the two brothers grew stronger as the years passed._

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_Years later,_

"_Oni-san, let's have a one on one match," challenged the-ten-year-old Kaede._

"_Oh? You have guts little brother. Why not?" shrugged Isawaki._

_Kaede smiled confidently as he dribbled the ball along the three-pointer. He did a fake and passed his brother into the defense zone, but Isawaki read his move and blocked the attack. Before Kaede could defend his ball, Isawaki stole the ball and scored a basket._

"_Nice try, little brother. But not good enough," said Isawaki, teasingly._

"_Tsk."_

_As the game went on, Isawaki won Kaede by 2 points. "Ka-Kaede… Y-yo-you really had gotten better these past few years. I can hardly catch up with you," said Isawaki, breathing heavily._

"_Hu-Huh… But not g-go-good enough," said Kaede, exhausted._

_Both of them lied down on the ground while enjoying the view of the sky._

"_Kaede-chan…"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_I wish I could play in the NBA someday," said Isawaki as he stared at the sky._

"_You will Oni-san. You are the best player I ever met."_

"_Why, thank you little brother. I'm flattered. Now, let's go home." _

_As they walked along the streets, Isawaki remembered that he had something to do and asked Kaede to go home first. So, the two brothers went their separate ways as they reach the junction._

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_Hours later, _

"_Where is Oni-san??" mumbled Kaede. Kaede and his family were getting very worried. Just as they were about to call Isawaki, the phone rang._

"_I'll get it," said Kaede, getting up from the sofa. "Hello, Rukawa's residence."_

"_Hello. This is the hospital calling. Rukawa Isawaki had been involved in a car accident…" those were the words from the other end of the phone._

_As Kaede listen, he was stunned._

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_The Rukawa's family was in one of the ward rooms. Rukawa Isawaki was lying on the bed, unconscious. Mr. Rukawa was comforting the sobbing Mrs. Rukawa, while Kaede was staring at his brother with disbelief. _

This can't be true. This can't be the Oni-san I was with hours ago. The Oni-san I was with was very energetic. Not the one who is lying on the bed here… _Kaede kept repeating these few lines again and again in his head._

"We had tried our best to save him. But his injury was too serious,"_ the doctor had said earlier. After hearing those words, Mrs. Rukawa sobbed and pleaded with the doctor to save her son._

"Sorry…"_ was the only word the doctor managed to say._

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_That day was a rainy day. Rukawa Isawaki's family and friends attended the funeral. It was a very gloomy day indeed. _

"_Oni-san… I will be the top player in the NBA on your behalf…" Kaede had made the promise to himself and to his_ late brother.

5 years has passed now since Isawaki's death. During these years; Rukawa Kaede had pushed himself to the limits, and had trained to get better at basketball. He also had isolated himself; became very quiet and anti-social. When he was in middle school, he became famous in the basketball world due to his extraordinary performance in the games.

Now that he is in high school, Rukawa Kaede aimed to be the best player in Japan. This is to fulfill his promise and make his way to the NBA games.

"_Oni-san… Please watch over me…"_

-The End-

**Author's Notes: I think the sequence of the story is not well organized. But I do hope you will enjoy it and that it wasn't too long.**


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